U.S. Lays Our Plans for Envoy NKorea Visit

SEOUL - The top U.S. diplomat in South Korea on Thursday laid out the goals her country seeks to achieve when its special envoy on North Korea visits Pyongyang next week to revive multinational talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

President Barack Obama's senior North Korea envoy, Stephen Bosworth, is set to fly into Pyongyang on Dec. 8 for a meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju.Data picture

Kathleen Stephens, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, told a forum here that the trip will "take place in the context of the six-party talks with the purpose of facilitating early resumption of the six-party talks," which include the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S.

The trip will also focus on securing North Korea's reaffirmation of a 2005 six-party agreement, she said, adding it includes Pyongyang's "commitment to the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner."